Jim Frenkel at WisCon 38

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In 2014, serial harasser Jim Frenkel attended Wiscon 38 despite complaints about him harassing a Wiscon 37 attendee, and previous reports. The Wiscon 38 organisers reported that they did not have a systemic way to track such issues. They reviewed the situation and provisionally banned Frenkel for several future years, a response that did not satisfy many onlookers.

WisCon will (provisionally) not allow Jim Frenkel to return for a period of four years (until after WisCon 42 in 2018). This is "provisional" because if Jim Frenkel chooses to present substantive, grounded evidence of behavioral and attitude improvement between the end of WisCon 39 in 2015 and the end of the four-year provisional period, WisCon will entertain that evidence. We will also take into account any reports of continued problematic behavior.

Allowing Jim Frenkel to return is not guaranteed at any time, including following WisCon 42; the convention's decision will always be dependent on compelling evidence of behavioral change, and our commitment to the safety of our members. If he is permitted to return at any time, there will be an additional one-year ban on appearing on programming or volunteering in public spaces. Any consideration of allowing him to return will be publicized in WisCon publications and social media at least three months before a final decision is made.

Based on the policies adopted by WisCon's Harassment Policy Committee before WisCon 38 in 2014, Jim Frenkel has the right to appeal this decision to SF3, WisCon's governing body. If he enters an appeal, we will make public statements both when he does so and when the appeal ruling is issued.

These are official WisCon actions, and will not be affected by future philosophical or policy discussions.

Following W38, we developed something of a judicial model to make sure that there would be follow-up and consequences to harassment. Based on comments within the ConCom and the broader membership, however, I am starting to think that a judicial model is not actually what the community wants… It's becoming clear to me that a judicial model was not ultimately what was wanted here, but based on our efforts to correct past mistakes, it's what we built.

July 21: antarcticlust posted again listing numerous ways she felt the WisCon subcommittee handling Frenkel's harassment had made mistakes.

K Tempest Bradford stated that she felt Frenkel was unlikely to reform and that therefore the actions amounted to a ban. [1][2][3][4] However, later information caused her to change her view.

quartzpebble pointed out to the committee that they were effectively excluding his victims from the WisCon event and asked if details of any harassment by Frenkel in future would be made public.

rosefox: "Shorter Wiscon: In recognition of the possibility that a harasser may eventually learn to behave himself like someone who graduated kindergarten, we will guarantee that a minimum of two people (the ones he harassed) will no longer feel comfortable at our convention."

Crossed Genres stated that they will no longer attend Wiscon: "Unfortunately, we have decided that Crossed Genres cannot in good conscience continue to support a convention which we don’t believe places enough emphasis on the safety of its con-goers. Because of this, Crossed Genres will not attend or participate in WisCon for the foreseeable future."

Mikki Kendall (karnythia) wrote "I have no intention of dropping out of attending WisCon. I have a lot of friends that go, and Wiscon is the only con where we can all get together. I refuse to give up my time with friends because of Jim Frenkel. This is not a new approach. It has been my approach since long before Frenkel being able to attend WisCon was ever in question. You see, I have never thought of WisCon as safe space."

Natalie Luhrs posted an extensive roundup of reactions, adding: "From where I’m sitting–as an outsider to their community–WisCon is run by a bunch of people who talk a good game about feminism but when it comes down to it, down to making the hard decisions about predators in their community, they can’t actually do what has to be done."